Like their wine-pouring and cocktail-slinging compatriots, Toronto’s brewmasters, restaurateurs, and chefs have built our city into one of Canada’s fastest growing destinations for craft beer. No longer beholden to big-name corporate breweries, imbibers are now spoiled for choice when it comes to artisan suds. But what exactly is craft beer? Must it be brewed on a small scale? Must it be locally produced? Does it demand the use (or absence) of particular ingredients? The answers to these questions are varied, and are best discovered by ordering up a pint or two.

This article was published in the 2013-14 edition of Where Essential Toronto. A pdf copy is available here.